Brush News

Dahms donation gives FM band shell project $100K boost

Fort Morgan Times staff

Posted:
11/28/2012 10:16:32 AM MST

Updated:
11/29/2012 09:08:29 AM MST

From the "Setting the Stage" Bandshell Fundraising Facebook Page, which you can like online at www.facebook.com/SettingTheStageBandshellFundraising posted this photo, noting, "Exciting news from the Bandshell Committee. Dr. Alan & Polli Dahms have become the "Stage Title Sponsor" for the new bandshell to be built in Fort Morgan City Park with their contribution of $100,000, making the amount raised to date $240,000." (Courtesy of the Setting the Stage Bandshell Fundraising Facebook Page)

Philanthropy is preceded by the belief that a monetary gift can significantly impact a cause that benefits the greater good.

Alan and Polli Dahms genuinely embraced the Fort Morgan Band Shell Project with their handsome philanthropic gift of $100,000, an amount that secures the naming rights for the structure planned for Fort Morgan City Park.

With this title sponsorship, the Committee has now collected pledges and gifts in excess of 225,000 for the project goal of $325,000.

"Setting the Stage is one giant step closer to becoming a reality with this wonderful gift," said Mary Zorn, Band Shell Project Committee Member.

The couple said they recognize and are excited about the range of possibilities a permanent band shell could provide for this community as a unique landmark and public venue for the performing arts and other featured events in Fort Morgan.

In making their gift to the Band Shell Project Committee, they concurred that music is a common denominator for bringing together people of all cultures and experiences.

Alan fondly remembered his childhood years in little Walnut Grove, Minn., where every week in the summer, public concerts were enjoyed by intergenerational audiences in the park band shell.

Committee spokesperson Martha Bieber described the band shell not as an edifice, but rather as community spirit.

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Most would agree that performances in an open-air setting can be compared to a picnic--everything just tastes better. In addition to that, there is an intimacy between performers and audience that is truly a personal experience.

The Dahmses have called Morgan County home since 2006, after moving to the High Plains from Denver where they were professional educators, Alan at Metropolitan State College and Polli at East High School.

Even though Alan and Polli are not natives to the area, Alan's parents owned farm and ranch land in Morgan County, and for many years he felt this place to be his sanctuary from the heavy demands and fast pace of city life. It seemed a natural choice for their retirement years.

During their relatively short residency, the couple and their Dahms-Talton Foundation have supported major health care and educational initiatives in Fort Morgan and Brush, specifically at Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center, Colorado Plains Medical Center, East Morgan County Hospital and Morgan Community College.

"It is what Alan and I want to do to perpetuate the memory of my father, Robert J. Talton, a most admirable man of industry and philanthropy himself," Polli said.

All gifts are tax deductible to the Platte Valley Festival Band/Band Shell Project, a 501(c)(3) organization. Levels of giving include "Standing Ovation" at $50,000, "Bravo" at $25,000, "Encore" at $5,000, and "Take a Bow" at $1,000. Personalized bricks can be designated at $100 each on the Band Shell Project website: settingthestagebandshell.com.

Once the fund raising campaign is complete, the money will be given to the City of Fort Morgan to proceed with the project -- a goal the committee is hopeful of realizing by the end of the year.